M65 is a beautiful spiral galaxy in the constellation of Leo. It is one of 3 galaxies that make up the "Leo Triplet" of galaxies - the other two galaxies being M66 and NGC 3628. M65 is about 30 million light years away, and has a mass of about 200 billion suns. Be sure to click on the image for a better view of the the dust lanes typical of a spiral galaxy.

In this image, North is to the Left. This image is cropped to 35% of the original full frame.

Exposure Details

Lens

Celestron C-8 SCT with Celestron focal reducer

Focal Length

1160mm

Focal Ratio

f/5.8

Mount

Schaefer GEM - 7 1/2 inch Byers gear

Guiding

ONAG On-Axis Guider, Lodestar autoguider, PHD Guiding

Camera

Canon 450D - Gary Honis modified

Exposure

89 subexposures of 300 seconds each at ISO 1600 - about 7 1/2 hours total

I had imaged M65 as one of my first digital astrophotos back in April 2011. While the image was acceptable, I was very happy to have a chance to redo it with my better equipment and improved processing skills. As it happens, I'm very happy with this image, as I was able to capture some very good detail as well as some nice color with this newer image.